Finding Your Perfect Rose

There are over 150 species of roses and thousands of cultivated varieties, each with its own combination of color, shape, and fragrance.TOMO/Shutterstock

Roses are one of the world’s most popular flowers. With centuries of breeding and almost endless varieties to choose from, there’s one for every environment.

Growing roses is a satisfying hobby that adds color, beauty, and perfume to your home.

The first, critical step is to select the right style for your landscape. Shrub or landscape roses are well-suited in a flower border, wild (or “species”) roses offer the ease that comes with native plants, and old garden roses (those created before 1867) are the favorite of purists. There are also climbing varieties, modern hybrids, tree roses, and perhaps the easiest of all for budding flower growers, container varieties, which are perfect for city dwellers gardening on an apartment balcony.

Roses are one of the most commonly cultivated flowers worldwide, due to their beauty, fragrance, and symbolism. MaryShutterstock/Shutterstock

Moveable Whimsy

Although many choose container roses because of their ability to be grown on city balconies, terraces, and rooftops, as well as in the restricted garden space of townhomes and brownstones, they are equally well-suited to the largest gardens because of their portability. They can add a bit of glamour to patios, decks, and terraces; be placed as accent plants around a pool; be used to highlight a walkway with a burst of color here and there; or be gathered together for a backyard fete. Miniature container roses can even be grown in a hanging basket on a front porch or from just about any overhang, even tree limbs.

All roses require a minimum of six hours of sun a day, preferably the gentler morning sun, and protection from midday heat, particularly in southern climates. With the exception of minis, the ideal minimum container size is 18 inches across and 14 inches deep to allow for proper root development. Roses in pots, whether they are made of terracotta, ceramic, clay, plastic, metal, or wood, need more water than their in-ground cousins.

At the same time, the container must have effective drainage; roses hate “wet feet.” Plus, a waterlogged pot is extremely heavy to move. In fact, large pots can be difficult to move in general. If they’re being relocated regularly, consider placing a plant caddy with casters underneath.

Container roses need regular feeding too; some enthusiasts water them with quarter-strength water-soluble fertilizer weekly for good growth and abundant flowers.

Regular pruning maintains the health and shape of garden roses, promoting better air circulation and reducing the risk of diseases. VH-studio/Shutterstock

Gorgeous, Low-Maintenance Color

The ever-popular landscape rose, or shrub rose, is the variety most commonly found at garden centers and nurseries. Usually ranging from 18 inches to 8 feet tall, they’re the workhorses of the garden. They make an attractive hedge on their own, can be used to add a splash of color along the front of a taller hedgerow or shrub border, or can be placed in the back or middle planting to add some height to a perennial border.

They also make great standalone accent plants. They have an attractive, naturally bushy growth habit and tend to be resistant to common diseases such as black mold and powdery mildew, eliminating the need for fungicides in the garden. Available in a variety of colors—red, pink, yellow, cream, white, and shades in between—plus single, double, and other flower forms, they offer low-maintenance, all-season-long color. The best types are self-cleaning, meaning the blossoms drop quickly after blooming, removing the need for dead-heading (cutting off spent blossoms) to encourage more flowers.

They are available as both hearty species/wild roses and modern hybrids.

Roses can be kept in pots and easily moved around the property for the best positioning. Klever_ok/Shutterstock

Wild, Old, and Modern

Species roses are wild roses that grow on their own rootstock and are winter-resilient in their area. They aren’t crossbred or hybridized and are most commonly pink, though rarer red or white varieties exist, along with the super-rare yellow wild rose. They usually have a single blooming season, with the occasional flower appearing out of season. They require space to spread out, as they sucker easily to form a large colony. Another alternative is to divide them regularly to create new plants; your neighbors will thank you.

Old garden roses fall into a subset of this category. With names such as “Madame Victor Verdier” or “Madame Bravy,” these roses have been in existence since before the invention of what is generally accepted as the first hybrid rose, the “La France.” Although most of these old garden roses range from 3 to 4 feet in height, some can grow up to 10 feet tall.

Modern garden roses, aka hybrids, are all roses bred after 1867. They offer enhanced features such as continuous blooming, a larger bloom size, more flower colors and styles, and a longer vase life. Why grow anything else? All these advantages came at the cost of the robust, heady fragrance of the wild species rose. Also, although some are bred for enhanced disease resistance, most are less hearty and more prone to disease than their natural cousins.

Climbing roses have long canes that can be trained to climb walls, fences, or trellises. MH Art/Shutterstock

Climbers and Trees

Climbing roses are varieties that can grow up to 20 feet long and can be trained on a trellis or structure. They flower profusely in spring and, on average, are not as hearty in winter as other shrub types. Tree roses (aka standards) are rose plants grafted on a tree. They need regular pruning, staking, and other special care, but they make quite a garden statement.

Productive Plants

Adding finely crushed eggshells to a rose’s soil to add essential calcium for a healthier plant and better blooms is a time-honored grower’s secret. Here are some more.

Awesome Alfalfa

Work half a cup of alfalfa meal into the soil for miniature roses, and a full cup for a large bush, to stimulate growth with 5-1-2 of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, D, B1, E, K, U, and triacontanol.

Nutritious Bananas

The potassium and phosphorus in banana peels help promote flower formation, and their calcium and magnesium benefit the overall plant. Simply blend banana peels with water to form a paste that can be applied to the soil.

Coffee Wake-up

Coffee grounds are a controversial soil amendment for roses. The solution? Use them in moderation, starting with a quarter cup of grounds to add valuable nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and copper. Never use more than a half-cup. As an added benefit, coffee grounds attract beneficial earthworms.